This invention relates to the general field of currency handling equipment, and more particularly to devices capable of accepting deposits of paper currency.
Paper currency or cash is still extensively used, particularly in high cash environments such as supermarkets and other large retail stores. However, from the retailer""s point of view the use of cash can present problems associated with security and efficient handling. Unlike non-currency financial instruments such as credit cards, debit cards, checks and the like, which are generally integrated from point-of-sale with a computerized banking system, cash must be counted and securely transported to a bank depository before it can be properly credited to its owner""s account.
The general procedure is to store cash collected in the course of a business day in a secure local storage device such as a store safe. Safes are well known devices for storing valuables that generally comprise a reinforced container made from a strong steel or concrete, and having a lockable access door with internal or heavily reinforced hinges. The stored cash may then be retrieved from the safe periodically by security personnel, such as armed security guards, and securely transported to the bank depository.
This arrangement, while prevalent, presents several problems. First, a sales clerk will generally need to make a series of deposits into the local safe over the course of a day to avoid the security risk of having too much cash on hand. This requires repeated re-opening the lockable access door. When there are several clerks making deposits it becomes convenient to simply leave the door open. However, this undermines the very purpose of the safe, since the stored currency is not protected from theft, fire, and other hazards unless the door is closed and locked.
Another issue is that the security guards may not arrive to retrieve the cash until the next day, or even later. Further, the stored cash is usually randomly scattered throughout the interior of the safe, and then has to be stuffed into bags and loaded onto an armoured vehicle. Unless this happens to be the guard""s last pick-up of the day, there are probably other cash pick-ups from other outlets. The cash may therefore not arrive at the bank until a day or two after it is received from the customer. The delay may be even longer if the armoured vehicle picks up loads for deposit at different institutions. This could impose yet a further intervening step of unloading at a central site, sorting according to eventual destination, and re-loading onto another truck.
A further matter is that while the cash is in transit there is a loss of float interest by the owner. Since the cash has not been credited, it is also not available to help fund current operations. Further, the funds represented by this cash-in-transit may not be accurately known to the owner, thereby compromising the owner""s ability to maintain tight financial controls.
Yet another issue is that, notwithstanding the various security measures, while in transit the anonymous nature of the cash makes it a persistent and tempting target for pilferage, misappropriation, and theft. For example, the cash bag may be opened or cut and its contents removed. If a bag has been opened and re-closed, it may be difficult to subsequently identify whether there has been a theft or a loading error. Alternatively, one or more bags may be taken outright and the misappropriation not evident until some time later. Moreover, in all of these cases it would be difficult to determine at which precise point in the circuit from the safe to the bank depository that the misappropriation or theft occurred.
Some of these issues have been partly addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,122, which discloses a currency receiving device comprising a safe with an attached currency counter and having a currency receiving opening with a retractable cover, to selectively provide access to the interior of the safe. Cash placed for deposit is counted and then passed from the currency counter to the safe through the currency receiving opening. The patent further teaches a removable currency receptacle made of heavy gauge steel, placed in the safe, to receive the currency.
This patent teaches a device that may enable regular deposits to be made into the safe while the main access door is kept closed and locked. The removable receptacle is a more convenient and secure enclosure to use to transport cash from the safe to the bank depository.
However, the retractable cover taught is not an effective means of transferring the currency from the currency counter to the safe, and can result in currency being jammed and the cover not closing properly. This creates an opportunity for unauthorized access to the cash stored in the currency receptacle. Further, if the currency receptacle is not installed the device will still work and undesirably deposit currency loosely into the interior of the safe. Yet another matter is that if the main door of the safe is open, the receptacle may be easily removed and its contents taken. Further, even when the currency receptacle is removed by authorized personnel, it is still vulnerable to access by unauthorized personnel while in transit. This can be a problem since, as noted, the receptacle may pass through several trucks and loading sites before reaching the bank depository. The patent fails to teach any means by which a misappropriation during transit can be identified, or by which the cash may be better integrated into the financial banking system.
As a result, regardless of whether a receptacle is used the cash being transported still represents a valuable asset of largely undetermined value that is essentially floating in space until it reaches the bank depository. Therefore, in contrast to modern electronic payment means such as credit or debit cards, cash continues to be a form of payment that is relatively awkward to collect and record, and is not as efficiently integrated into commercial financial systems.
What is required is a currency receiving device and method which overcomes these disadvantages. Most particularly, this device should include a removable currency receptacle with a unique identifier, recognizable by the currency receiving device, so that deposit information can be correlated with the particular receptacle receiving the deposit. This information is preferably kept at a remote location or processor, but may also be kept with the currency receptacle itself.
The label or identifier provides a tag through which the physical location and progress of the cash-in-transit can be known, and by which the cash contents itself may be effectively tied into the financial system. In this way the cash may be accurately known to its owner from the time it is first deposited in the safe until it is physically deposited at the owner""s bank. This should assist the owner in maintaining accurate financial controls, and may even enable early crediting of the owner""s bank account, thereby reducing the float expense.
The receptacle should also have a lockable lid to deter unauthorized access while it is in transit. Further, it would be advantageous for the currency receiving device to have a lockable mounting device to securely hold the currency receptacle when it is installed in the safe, to prevent unauthorized removal of the receptacle or its contents and to provide for more efficient operation. The currency receiving device should recognize the presence of the receptacle so that currency will not be transferred unless the receptacle is securely in place. Finally, it would be advantageous to have a retractable cover or access gate to ensure that the deposited currency is quickly, securely, and reliably transferred from the currency counter to the receptacle.
Accordingly, there is provided a currency receiving device for receiving currency from a user, comprising:
a safe having a lockable access opening and a transfer slot;
a local processor, operatively connected to said safe, said local processor having a user interface to communicate with the user, and being capable of communicating with a remote processor;
a currency counter, operatively connected to said safe, to count the currency deposited by the user; and
a removable currency receptacle, contained within said safe and operatively connected to said currency counter, to receive currency from the currency counter and to store said currency, said removable currency receptacle having a unique identifier;
wherein, upon said currency receptacle being installed in said safe, said identifier is correlated with said count of currency deposited by said user.